Kinou no Kakera
by Mirune Keishiko
Summary: Does first love ever die? (layout at last revised for easier reading.) Spoilers for Kyoto arc. WAFF. Complete!
1. Arrival

A/N. As of 12 April 2004, this piece has been (finally!) revised to fix the formerly godawful formatting. Lesson of the day, folks: Don't just cut and paste from email. @.@  
  
  
  
Hm, warnings: This was my first ever multipart RK fic--actually, my first ever multipart fanfic, full stop. Extreme episodes of WAFF; some episodes of mild mopey angst; liberally scattered gratuitous Japanese; rather bad gushy, excessive descriptions; overall terrible wordiness... Still, quite a few people liked this fic in the end, if I may say so myself... ^.^  
  
  
  
Sorry also for the long glossary. Those for the subsequent chapters shouldn't be quite so long. ^.^  
  
  
  
glossary:  
  
tadaima = I'm home!  
  
okaeri nasai = Welcome home!  
  
kirei, totemo kirei = respectively, "lovely" (also "clean" and "bright", but they don't exactly apply here ^.^;) and "very lovely"  
  
-chan = suffix denoting a younger close personal acquaintance/friend and/or a young female friend  
  
-san = standard, all-purpose respectful suffix  
  
-dono = archaic suffix denoting a status much higher than the speaker's; "Keishiko-dono" would be roughly equivalent to "Lady Keishiko". Kenshin's trademark suffix for some men and nearly all women  
  
baka = noun. idiot, silly, stupid  
  
daijoubu = [i'm] okay, [i'm] fine. if in question form, "are you okay/all right?"  
  
oei = hey!  
  
geisha = essentially, Japanese women trained for many years in many traditional arts like playing musical instruments and dancing  
  
hitokiri = lit. "man-cutter" or "man-slasher"; essentially an assassin  
  
Ahou ga. = Saitouism: "Idiot." Less literally, "You are an idiot."  
  
hai = yes  
  
de gozaru = to be technical: an archaic, superpolite form of "desu." "desu" is something like the Japanese equivalent of the verb "to be." Kenshin's trademark superpolite way of speaking. ^.^  
  
Jou-chan = lit. "little lady," "little miss," "young miss"; Sano's trademark way of referring to Kaoru  
  
-kun = suffix denoting a male friend as old as or younger than the speaker, and/or close to the speaker  
  
gomen nasai = i'm sorry.  
  
oyasumi nasai = good night!  
  
tsuzuku = to be continued!  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Keishiko  
  
  
  
  
  
One: Arrival  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Radiant - that was what everyone called Kiku-chan. Kamiya Kaoru watched her beaming cousin being paraded around the temple grounds by her new husband and could not help feeling a twinge of wistful envy. Even as she was happy for her cousin, who had been a childhood playmate, Kaoru found herself wishing that, someday, she would be the one smiling in the shade of the camellia trees, embraced warmly by her handsome husband, radiant in the delicate, exquisite kimono handed down from bride to blushing bride in her family.  
  
She would have liked to stay longer, to linger among the guests, most of whom were relatives she had not seen in many years. But it was getting late. Although the celebrations would continue for some hours yet, it was time for her to head home.  
  
Purple shadows were thick beneath the dojo wall when she arrived. Pushing the gate shut behind her, she found a lone figure, slight and still, standing on the porch steps. Flame-bright hair glimmered as the figure turned toward her expectantly.  
  
"Tadaima, Kenshin," Kaoru said, nodding.  
  
"Okaeri nasai." The greeting was as warm and gentle as the smile that accompanied it. "How was the wedding?"  
  
"Kirei," and Kaoru sighed. "Totemo kirei. So was Kiku-chan. In her kimono she was so grown-up - you wouldn't have thought she's--" She caught herself. /You wouldn't have thought she's only as old as I am./  
  
"Well, she was pretty," she amended quickly, seeing Kenshin's questioning eyes on her. "And Kazumi-san was handsome, too. They're going away to Europe for the next few months - Kiku-chan promised to send postcards, and when they get back, she'll have a present for me. Just imagine - Europe!" Kaoru sighed again. "I guess it helps to have a friend working at the embassy."  
  
"Tae-dono does own the best beef-pan restaurant in town," observed Kenshin mildly, though his violet eyes were bright with humor as they followed Kaoru. "That's a good place to start."  
  
Kaoru smiled. "I guess you're right." She yawned. "I'm tired out. I'll be going to bed early. Is dinner ready yet?"  
  
"In a few minutes, it will be." Kenshin rose to his feet. "I just came out to tell you - there's a gentleman waiting for you in the front room."  
  
"A visitor!" Kaoru woke up. "Baka! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Frowning, she headed toward the back of the house. "I'll just change - this is too formal. How long has he been here? Did he say why he wanted to see me? Did he give his name?"  
  
"About an hour and a half. No, he didn't. And he said his name was Niimi Keisuke-san--"  
  
Kenshin nearly walked right into her.  
  
Kaoru had stopped. She stood very still, suddenly pale, one hand clutching the post for support. In her eyes burned a strange, eager brightness, and her voice was hushed and low as she repeated, with a slight catch: "Niimi... Keisuke?"  
  
Kenshin nodded. "Daijoubu, Kaoru-dono?" he asked quietly. "I will tell him to come back another time if you like..."  
  
Kaoru did not seem to hear. She turned toward the house, eyes soft and unfocused, as if she were walking in a dream. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink as she raised a hand slowly to her heart.  
  
"I'll see him right away," she said.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oei, Kenshin."  
  
"Sano. Good evening." From his seat on the back porch, Kenshin had not seen the spiky-headed silhouette emerge from the shadows at the side of the house, but Sanosuke's arrival had not been entirely unexpected anyway.  
  
"Still up?" Sanosuke came to lean against a post some distance away. Kenshin could feel brown eyes leveled at him, the intensity of their gaze contrasting with the nonchalance in the low, smooth voice. "Something wrong?"  
  
Kenshin smiled faintly. "I'm still wondering about that myself." He glanced up at his friend. "You're up late yourself. Hard night at the gambling tables?"  
  
Sanosuke grimaced.  
  
Shaking his head, grinning ruefully, Kenshin closed his eyes and rested his cheek against his sheathed sakabatou, propped up in its customary position against his shoulder.  
  
Sano plopped down beside him with a thump.  
  
"All right, Kenshin. You're dancing around this thing better than a lot of geisha I've known. Spit it out."  
  
Kenshin smiled, though his eyes stayed closed. "It's nothing important, Sano, you don't have to concern yourself."  
  
"If it's keeping you awake way past the setting of the moon I think it's pretty important. Hitokiri like you know better than to worry themselves over unimportant things."  
  
Kenshin chuckled softly. Sanosuke cocked a grin at him and lay back, folding his sinewy arms behind his head. Meditatively he chewed on his fishbone as silence reigned for several minutes.  
  
Finally the fishbone went flying into the bushes.  
  
"Spill, damn it."  
  
Kenshin sighed. Of course, he thought, it was foolish to hope Sano would give it up... A mental image of Saitou muttering "Ahou ga" came to him, glowing cigarette and all, and Kenshin shook his head to dispel it.  
  
"It's very simple," he said, slowly and elaborately, as though speaking to a child. "This man, Niimi Keisuke, came to the dojo this afternoon. I told him Kaoru-dono was out for the day, and he said he would wait. When Kaoru-dono got back some hours ago I told her about her visitor. She saw him. That's all."  
  
"What time did he go home?"  
  
Kenshin paused. "He's still here."  
  
Sanosuke arched an eyebrow. "I see."  
  
"Kaoru-dono seemed to recognize the name." /That's an understatement,/ thought Kenshin, remembering Kaoru's poleaxed look. He frowned.  
  
"Two guesses why you're so upset." Sanosuke yawned. "A, you're worried this guy's some old enemy, and you feel you should protect her. B, you're worried this guy's some old friend."  
  
Kenshin said nothing.  
  
"It can't really be A," continued Sano thoughtfully, "because knowing Jou-chan, she'd beat him up and throw him out two minutes after meeting him. So now, you little worrywart, you're afraid that it's a B." He eyed Kenshin critically, noting the rigid posture, the  
  
tense set of his shoulders. "Or worse."  
  
Silence.  
  
"What are they talking about for so long anyway? Dawn's probably just hours away." A thought struck him. "Did he have dinner here?"  
  
"Hai, de gozaru."  
  
A sly grin crept across Sanosuke's face. "And let me guess. Jou-chan made you cook."  
  
"Mm-hmm."  
  
"To impress this guy, of course. She wouldn't dare feed him her own cooking. And you ate with them?"  
  
"Yes." Kenshin's violet eyes reflected back pinpoints of light from the stars. "He's a naval officer based in Yokohama, here on leave for a month. He used to be a student here at the dojo until he and his family moved to Yokohama three years ago so that he could be  
  
a naval officer like his father. He and Kaoru-dono were close friends before he left."  
  
"Close friends, huh?"  
  
Kenshin paused. "He was going to say something else, but Kaoru-dono interrupted him."  
  
Sanosuke grunted.  
  
The air hung clear and crisp between the two men, the autumn chill nipping at their skin. For several moments conversation was lost to the quiet, busy rustling of wind through bamboo.  
  
Then there were muffled footfalls, as of tabi on wood, and hushed voices.  
  
"Are you sure it's all right? I wouldn't want to impose..."  
  
"Oh, you worry too much. You always did, Kei-kun, even when you were seventeen and it was the night before the final competition. Remember?"  
  
Kenshin, too honorable to eavesdrop, rose to his feet and would have walked away had Sanosuke not latched on to the hem of his hakama. Kenshin frowned, but Sano would not be detached and was listening intently to the whispered conversation. It came loud and clear - too clear, Kenshin thought wryly; even after passing through walls of paper, every word could be understood.  
  
"Yes, the competition. I remember how you drilled me endlessly the week before, and the last night... I remember--"  
  
A pause. Kenshin turned his face away. Sano sighed; this sure wasn't turning out very well.  
  
A rustle of cloth. Sano bit his lip.  
  
"Keisuke..." Kaoru's voice quavered.  
  
"Gomen nasai." Rustle, rustle. "Forgive me, Kaoru. It's just that-- It's been so long--"  
  
"Yes, it has." Silence. A door slid open, and warm yellow light flickered to life. "This is your room. If you need anything, I'm down at the end of the corridor."  
  
"Didn't that use to be the master's?"  
  
"You still remember?"  
  
Kaoru's voice was soft and wistful. With a sudden effort, Kenshin tugged free of Sanosuke's grip. He walked away, head bowed, and Sano, watching him, thought the color of the fire-bright hair a little duller, darker than usual. Or was it only the night's shadows, playing tricks on his eyes?...  
  
"Oyasumi nasai, Kaoru."  
  
"O... oyasumi nasai, Kei-kun." A pause. "It's good to see you again."  
  
"You don't know how much I feel the same way."  
  
Moments dragged into eternity as Sano sat and listened in gloomy, frustrated silence. Finally a last "good night" was mumbled, and then the door slid shut. Footsteps went slowly away from the guest room door, toward the room at the end that Sano knew was Kaoru's.  
  
Several minutes passed, then the yellow lamplight from the guest room vanished. The house sank into darkness.  
  
Sanosuke was left alone on the porch, eyes half-closed, mind racing.  
  
"Chik'shou," he breathed at last.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
- tsuzuku -  
  
  
  
Standard disclaimers apply! 


	2. Comings and Goings

A/N. Oh, and I forgot to apologize (again) for the sorta lame chapter titles. When I originally sent this to the KFFDiscML, I didn't put any chapter titles. But then FFnet demanded them, so I had to scramble for them just as I was uploading. ^.^  
  
  
  
FYI, Japanese words included in a previous chapter's glossary will not be included in those of future ones.  
  
  
  
  
  
glossary:  
  
kata = a set of prescribed moves in a martial art, done repeatedly be a student so as to ingrain them into his/her reflexes  
  
kitsune-onna = lit. "fox-lady"; a typical reference to Megumi-dono ^.^  
  
ohagi = sweets made out of sticky rice covered with sweet bean jam. yum!  
  
eeto = um... er... I mean...  
  
-sensei = suffix denoting a teacher or mentor; also, with different kanji (Chinese/Japanese ideograms), denoting a doctor  
  
yukata = light cotton robe worn around the house and at night; when it's summer-hot, also worn outside  
  
miso = a salty paste made from fermented fish  
  
ano = see "eeto" above.  
  
sumanai = a slightly more formal form of "sorry" than "gomen nasai"  
  
tanuki = a raccoonlike creature unique to Japan. Kaoru is compared to this ^.^  
  
ohayou = good morning!  
  
shinai = bamboo sword used by students of kendo/kenjutsu  
  
arigatou = Thank you.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Keishiko  
  
  
  
Two: Comings and Goings  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next day dawned cool and crisp. Kaoru woke up with a lazy smile on her face, although she could not say why. Purring contentedly, snug in the warmth of her blanket, she rolled over onto her side and sighed. Sleep was so very delicious, she thought dreamily. She just *couldn't* get up quite yet...  
  
Even though her eyes stayed shut she gradually came awake, as if breaking the surface of a great, still lake, gently buoyed by the whispering waters.  
  
The sounds of another morning at the dojo came to her ears: The dull *thwop-thwop* of fresh laundry snapping in the breeze. The distant shouts of Yahiko, practising his kata in the training hall. The occasional low, laconic voice - probably Sanosuke, watching the boy train and offering a few tips. A coy feminine laugh from the courtyard was unmistakably Megumi's, although it had been some time since the kitsune-onna's last visit to the dojo. Kaoru heard the small voices of Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan and realized the little girls were playing a game with the woman doctor. She smiled and opened her eyes.  
  
On a tray, not two feet away, was a flat, gaily wrapped box.  
  
It had not been there the night before. Kaoru stared at it and crept closer to sniff at it suspiciously. It seemed harmless enough, but one never knew. She wondered how it had gotten into her room.  
  
Carefully she unwrapped the elaborate packaging, unfolding the blue-and-silver paper, regretting the destruction of the ornate bamboo design.  
  
A note was tucked inside. It lay on top of another box that opened to reveal an assortment of ohagi and sweet red bean balls, shaped like small swans and sparrows and painted bright red and brown and black. Nestled in soft rice paper, the sweets looked terribly tempting.  
  
Kaoru resisted the urge to pop a delectable piece into her mouth and instead read the note.  
  
  
  
  
  
/Kaoru-chan, eeto, Kamiya-sensei--  
  
I do hope you like red beans as much as you used to at fourteen.  
  
  
  
Kei-kun/  
  
  
  
  
  
She smiled, sighed, and put away the note. Then she replaced the cover on the box - firmly ignoring the tantalizing sweets inside - and got up.  
  
Her stomach rumbled as she exchanged her yukata for one of her favorite kimonos, an old dark blue one with gray and white butterflies. As she tied back her hair a familiar tangy-salty smell drifted past, and all thoughts of red bean delicacies drowned in hungry fantasies of Kenshin's miso soup.  
  
"Good morning, Kaoru-dono," came Kenshin's cheerful greeting as she entered the kitchen. "I hope you slept well."  
  
"I did, thanks," Kaoru answered absently. Following Kenshin's mildly curious gaze, she flushed when she realized he was looking at the small box in her hands. Feeling unaccountably guilty all of a sudden, she hid the box behind her back and feigned a bright smile.  
  
"That smells wonderful, Kenshin!" She tiptoed nearer to the door. She had wanted to put the box in the cupboard, but somehow she felt she shouldn't, not while Kenshin was looking. "When do we eat? Where's Keisuke?"  
  
"He's in the dojo with Yahiko-chan." Kenshin turned back to the soup, apparently not having noticed anything amiss. Kaoru breathed more easily. "Breakfast is in a few minutes."  
  
"All right," and Kaoru, still clutching the box, slipped out the door with a sigh of relief. At least she'd escaped Kenshin's questions.  
  
She didn't see Megumi rounding the corner of the house, hiding from Ayame-chan in their game of hide-and-seek. Oblivious to Megumi watching her with interest, Kaoru tucked the box into her sleeve and headed toward the dojo.  
  
Kenshin was humming busily over his pot of fragrant rice as Megumi silently entered the kitchen. His back was turned to her, so she took the opportunity to appreciate his lean, well-built physique, the straight, proud back tapering slightly from broad shoulders to a trim waist that showed through the gi and hakama in the sunshine filtering through the window. Kenshin's long, billowing sleeves were tied back as usual, and the muscles in his arms shifted slightly, tensed and pulsed, as he stirred the soup.  
  
Megumi smiled to herself and shook her head. Kenshin was gorgeous from whatever angle you looked at him.  
  
Kenshin glanced at her uneasily.  
  
"Ano... Megumi-dono? It's kind of unnerving when you stare like that..."  
  
Megumi threw back her head and laughed. So hearty and so loud were her peals of laughter that a faint rosy color tinted Kenshin's cheeks. Hiding his embarrassment in his hair, he busied himself preparing the trays.  
  
"Sumanai, Ken-san," Megumi gasped when she could speak at last. "It's just that... Well, it's been some time since we last saw each other, and I can't help appreciating the view from here."  
  
The new flush that spread across his cheeks only made her laugh again.  
  
Megumi's amusement finally subsided. Seeing that she had made Kenshin uncomfortable, she decided to make amends. "Here, I'll take care of these trays so you can finish up with that fish," she said, more gently. Kenshin smiled thanks at her and turned back to the fish that he had been slicing.  
  
As Megumi arranged the dishes and bowls, she eyed him thoughtfully, and saw a slight frown crease his forehead - barely visible under the hair - and shadows cloud his eyes.  
  
Something was bothering him, Megumi knew.  
  
"Sanosuke told me about that Niimi-san fellow who visited yesterday," she began conversationally. Kenshin made no response. "Apparently he's an old friend of Kaoru's."  
  
"Yes, he stayed over last night." Kenshin's voice was light, unconcerned. He placed the bright, translucent folds of raw fish on a plate, arranging them - with a few deft movements - into the rippling shape of a river.  
  
"I see. Yahiko-chan has been training with him all morning." Carrying the trays, Megumi followed him into the dining area. "He used to be a student here after all."  
  
"That's great." Kenshin laid out the pillows. "I'm sure Yahiko's really benefiting from Niimi-san's experience. Megumi-dono, will you come with me? I will call them to breakfast now."  
  
A perplexed Megumi followed Kenshin along the corridor toward the dojo. Kenshin was acting as if nothing at all were amiss. He seemed determined to block her every effort to get through to him; Megumi knew him too well to be fooled by his pretenses.  
  
She knew he had feelings for Kaoru-chan. So why was he trying so hard to hide them? Especially with this intruder appearing from out of nowhere and making moves on the tanuki girl!  
  
It was frustrating not to know; and yet she knew that it was easy, instinctive even, for him to be so defensive. Kenshin had not been a simple, peaceful wanderer all his life. He was used to people trying to break through his defenses, trying to discover his  
  
weaknesses. Megumi herself understood - understood and sympathized. She couldn't blame him for being so guarded.  
  
It was just going to take a little more effort than she'd thought...  
  
Sanosuke had been gloomy and grim as he'd related to her the events of the previous night. Megumi had been unwilling to believe that Kenshin could seem so unconcerned, but, now that she was seeing him with her own eyes, it seemed all too possible.  
  
Megumi eyed the man walking before her - the man she had come to love and admire with all her heart, the man whom she most wanted to see happy - and wondered if what he was showing her was really all there was. Was he... Was Kaoru...?  
  
"Megumi-dono."  
  
"H-hai?" Megumi's voice came out in an unrefined squeak. Was it coming? The pained confession? The emotional outpouring?  
  
"You're... um... staring... again..."  
  
It was Megumi's turn to flush.  
  
They had reached the side door leading to the training hall. Kenshin pushed it open and stepped inside. Interrupted in their lesson, Yahiko and Kaoru looked at him expectantly. "Ohayou de gozaru," he said politely. "Breakfast is ready now."  
  
"All right!" Yahiko hastily bowed to Kaoru - the student concluding the lesson from his master - and, shinai in hand, ran out of the room. Sanosuke, with a satisfied grunt, got up from where he lay sprawled on the sidelines and followed Yahiko.  
  
Quietly, Megumi caught hold of the tails of his headband.  
  
Sanosuke's head jerked backward. His long legs, which had been taking great steps toward breakfast, met air. "Oei!" he managed to yelp before he crashed to the floor.  
  
"Kitsune-onna!" Sanosuke growled. Yahiko rolled about on the floor laughing. "Shut up, Yahiko-*chan!*"  
  
"Breakfast's ready. But not for you." Fox ears sprouted on Megumi's head as she pinched Sanosuke's ear. "Honestly, aren't you ever ashamed of mooching on the food Ken-san works so hard on?"  
  
"Kenshin doesn't mind," Sano protested, rubbing his ear and trying in vain to tug free. "Well, if you're not going to let loose, I guess I'll just have to bring you along!"  
  
And, in one deft movement, he scooped her up in his arms and ran. Megumi's shouts of outrage trailed in his wake as he sprinted gleefully to the dining room. Yahiko laughed even harder, staggering to his feet to follow them.  
  
"Sanosuke!" yelled Kaoru, scandalized.  
  
Kenshin smiled apologetically at Keisuke, who had come up behind Kaoru and now looked shocked at the antics of the morning. "Please excuse our friends' behavior. They're just hungry."  
  
"Kenshin!" hissed Kaoru. She gave a weak smile to Keisuke, who had burst out laughing.  
  
"They remind me of Taka and myself three years ago. Remember him?" He grinned at her. "Come to think of it, where is he now?"  
  
"Yamino Taka," Kaoru answered, smiling back. "Of course I remember him. Come along, Keisuke. Kenshin's miso is the best - let's have breakfast while I tell you about Taka-kun."  
  
"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse your kind offer." Keisuke bowed apologetically.  
  
Kaoru stopped, stared at him, eyes bright and questioning.  
  
"I should report back to my officer in half an hour. He might be worried since I didn't sleep there last night." Keisuke smiled, bowing again. "My stay has been most comfortable, and it is all due to my gracious hostess."  
  
Kaoru frowned. "Kei-kun. Stop that. I'm not used to that from you. You're getting as bad as Kenshin, so formal." Smiling playfully, she glanced at Kenshin, expecting him to give her his sheepish smile, to scratch his head as he spluttered some protest.  
  
But her smile faded when he suddenly turned away. Puzzled, Kaoru found herself staring at the bright fire of his hair. /Something's wrong,/ she thought, but Keisuke was laughing again.  
  
"All right," Keisuke said cheerfully. "Then I'll be off. Sorry to miss out on breakfast - I'd love to meet everyone. But I'll come back. If you'll let me." The light tones belied the sharp, questioning glance he shot at Kaoru.  
  
She smiled cheerfully back at him, though her cheeks were stained a light pink. "Of course. You're welcome to visit any day."  
  
"Thank you, Kaoru."  
  
Kaoru returned Keisuke's deep bow with a graceful one, then Kenshin accompanied him to the gate. As he prepared to shut the gate behind Keisuke, the young man unexpectedly turned and bowed.  
  
"Arigatou, Himura-san," he murmured. "You have been most kind."  
  
Hastily, hiding his pleased surprise, Kenshin returned the bow and the pleasantries.  
  
As Keisuke walked away, his remarkable height drawing stares and glances from passersby, Kenshin watched him silently from the dojo gate.  
  
It was not often that a high-born young man like Niimi Keisuke took notice of a seeming servant like him. Keisuke had treated him with respect, almost as if Kenshin were an elder. Eleven years ago in the Tokugawa era, outside the radical equality of the Restorationists, it would have been unheard of.  
  
A man of Meiji. Kenshin watched until Keisuke's smart dark blue navy uniform was swallowed up by the crowd, lost amid the bright colors and striking patterns of kimono and gi.  
  
Then, turning, Kenshin headed back inside.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku *  
  
  
  
1. I just *had* to sneak in that little bit of Kenshin-ogling. ^.^  
  
2. There are a few inconsistencies, I know--e.g. In referring to Yahiko, Kenshin shifts from "Yahiko-chan" to "Yahiko" and back again. Gomen nasai! @.@ But I intend to post this story on FFnet as I posted it on KFFDiscML (for posterity, you might say) so well, there it is... ^.^ 


	3. Boys and Girls

glossary:  
  
gi = the floppy shirt Yahiko and Kenshin wear; also worn by Kaoru when training/teaching  
  
niitan, -nii = denoting an older brother  
  
tatami = a type of reed/grass from which Japanese mats are made to cover floors  
  
kuso = curse word  
  
shikashi, demo = but, however  
  
"Kenshin no baka" = "Kenshin, you idiot!" or "stupid Kenshin!"  
  
imagawa-yaki = Maeko's definition: small drum-shaped hotcakes hotcakes with sweet red bean inside, then sold by vendors in busy districts (again, arigatou!)  
  
kowai = scary  
  
ojiisan = grandfather  
  
Tanabata = summertime festival kinda like the Western Valentine's Day (aw, come on... like you didn't watch the episode? ^.^)  
  
shihandai = a dojo student advanced enough to teach lower students  
  
deshi = student, pupil  
  
otousan = father  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Three: Boys and Girls  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Yahiko straightened his back with a sigh and stood up, carefully easing cramped muscles. He had been hard at work scrubbing the dojo floor all afternoon, and he looked with disgust at the dust and grime that had collected on his gi. Nevertheless, his diligent efforts had paid off. Yahiko beamed to himself proudly as he glanced around the training hall, seeing how clearly the sunlight shimmered on the wooden flooring.  
  
"Too bad old busu isn't around to see how nice and shiny this place is now," he muttered to himself, wiping his sweat on his sleeve.  
  
"Yahiko-nii!" There was a patter of little feet on tatami, and Ayame and Suzume burst into the dojo. Much to Yahiko's relief, they kept off the shiny wooden floor.  
  
"Oi, girls," he greeted.  
  
Ayame clung to the doorway and pouted. "It's so boring around here! And too quiet!"  
  
"Yeah! 'Specially since Ken-nii is away!" complained Suzume, flopping down on the tatami. Rolling over on her back, she gazed pleadingly at Yahiko. "Play a game with us!"  
  
Yahiko took one last, satisfied look around the dojo and slung the washrag over his shoulder. "Well, I guess I can take some time off. I'm finished here anyway."  
  
"Yahiko-nii, where's Niitan?" asked Suzume, kicking her feet back and forth as she rode Yahiko's shoulders, tangling her little fingers in  
  
his hair for balance. Yahiko winced as her heels knocked against his collarbone, but said nothing, bringing her and her sister back to the courtyard. "He's been gone for *hours*."  
  
"Kaoru sent him out for all kinds of errands. And he's only been gone since after lunch, Suzume-chan."  
  
"It seems like hours to *me*," said Ayame stubbornly, clutching Yahiko's hand. "And it's awful quiet around here without *anybody*  
  
around. Kaoru-neesan's not here. Sanosuke-niichan isn't here either. Not even Ken-nii washing clothes or preparing a bath or  
  
cooking or..." Yahiko stifled a grin and shook his head sheepishly. /Yare yare,/ he thought. What with Kenshin being the perfect housekeeper...  
  
"Hey, you're awful quiet too, all of a sudden," Yahiko said. The girls had fallen silent, and although Ayame still kept pace with him, her head was, uncharacteristically, bowed. "Daijoubu, girls?" Yahiko asked, concerned.  
  
A drop of something splashed wetly into his hair, followed quickly by another, then another. Startled, Yahiko carefully lifted Suzume off his shoulders and, holding her up before him, was astonished to see tears dripping from her eyes.  
  
"Suzume-chan! What's with you?" For lack of anything better at hand, Yahiko quickly used his sleeve to wipe at her tears , only to realize that Ayame, too, was blubbering into his hakama. "Oi, Ayame-chan! Not you too!"  
  
"Yahiko-nii," sniffled Ayame, and her eyes shimmered with wetness as she stared mournfully up at him. "Ken-nii... What if..."  
  
"Not again!" and throwing her chubby arms around his neck, Suzume began bawling in earnest.  
  
Thoroughly bewildered, Yahiko pulled Ayame aside and sat down on the porch. "Maa maa," he said soothingly, patting Suzume on the back as she sobbed incoherently into his gi. "Ayame-chan, why don't you tell me what the heck you're so worried about."  
  
Ayame sat down beside him and clung to his sleeve despondently. "I was just thinking... what if... maybe Ken-nii would go away again --like before..."  
  
Suzume hiccupped. "I don't want Ken-nii to leave again!"  
  
/Kuso,/ thought Yahiko, staring helplessly at the two unhappy little girls with him. /I thought they'd forgotten all about that. That was months and months ago.../  
  
"Daijoubu, Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan," he said, smiling at the two girls. Suzume's crying ceased at last, and she stared solemnly up at him with wide, serious eyes. "Kenshin isn't going away. Believe me. You shouldn't cry anymore."  
  
"But he left that time," Suzume pointed out, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"And ojiisan said he'd come back soon... but he didn't come back for a long time." Ayame sighed. "And it was sooo boring without him around. Not even you or Kaoru-oneesan around to play with."  
  
"Shikashi -- he came back, didn't he?" Yahiko smiled. Wordlessly the two girls snuggled closer, and he hugged them gently. "You know Kenshin -- he always comes back. Sometimes he takes a little longer to do it, demo... he always comes back," he repeated quietly. "This is his home."  
  
He remembered Kenshin's eyes, calm and shining in the deepening twilight as the tired party finally reached the dojo gates. He remembered the undisguised satisfaction and peace in the quiet voice.  
  
/"I'm home..."/  
  
"You really think so?" Suzume's voice was tiny, muffled against his sleeve.  
  
"Of course I do! I said so, didn't I?" But the hurt in his tones was feigned, and Yahiko quickly extricated himself from the little girls' grip. As much as he liked playing oniisan to the two girls, hugging was just not his thing... "You'll see. He'll come back soon, and invent another nice game for you three to play, and Kaoru will come back all worked up after teaching blockheads at the Maekawa dojo all day. She'll yell at him" -- Yahiko's voice grew sharp and shrill -- "'Kenshin no baka! I'm hungry after all that teaching and you haven't even made dinner yet!' And then her bokutou goes *wham*--"  
  
Ayame-chan giggled, her eyes brightening as Yahiko stumbled around the courtyard, going spiral-eyed in his best Kenshin-hit-over-the-head-by-Kaoru imitation. Beside her, Suzume laughed in delight.  
  
Yahiko was just getting into the swing of things when a polite knock came from the dojo gate, interrupting the game. "Wonder who that could be?" Yahiko grumbled as he went to answer. He found an all too familiar figure standing outside.  
  
"Ohayou, Yahiko-kun," said Keisuke, bowing deeply. "I hope you are well."  
  
/You again,/ thought Yahiko tiredly. He was getting used to Keisuke -- the young man had been showing up at the dojo without fail every day for the past week. He always took Kaoru out for a walk. Yahiko found himself resenting Keisuke's presence for some reason, but as Kaoru's student, he had to be nice to the guy.  
  
"Ohayou, Niimi-san." Rather stiffly, Yahiko returned the polite bow. "I am, thank you. But if it's my sensei you're looking for, she's not here. She's been out all day, teaching at the Maekawa dojo on the other side of town, and she won't be back until nightfall."  
  
With a certain sense of satisfaction Yahiko saw a shadow of disappointment fall across Keisuke's face. /Kaoru didn't tell you that, did she?/ Yahiko thought smugly, preparing to shut the gate again. But the shadow was gone as soon as it had come, and when Keisuke suddenly smiled Yahiko felt his spirits sink.  
  
"Daijoubu," said Keisuke cheerfully. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come inside and wait for her. It's only a few hours."  
  
Yahiko shrugged. "Yare yare, if you wish. Come in, then, Niimi-san."  
  
"Please," said Keisuke, walking past him, "call me Keisuke."  
  
Yahiko decided not to. "If you'll wait in the front room, I'll get some tea."  
  
"Thank you, but don't trouble yourself. You must be tired after all that hard work."  
  
Embarrassed, Yahiko glanced down at his hands, smudged with dirt and sweat, and shoved them out of sight behind his back with a scowl as Keisuke winked at him conspiratorially. "Kamiya-sensei used to be strict about cleaning the dojo, too."  
  
Keisuke's grin was as sympathetic as it was roguish, and despite his best effort Yahiko found himself warming up to the young man. /I guess he isn't as bad as he looks,/ he thought grudgingly. But, as friendly and infectious as Keisuke's smile was, Yahiko refused to return it. It felt too much like betrayal, somehow. Feeling confused, Yahiko simply nodded and bowed. "If you'll excuse me." Without waiting for an answer he ran off toward the outhouse for a much-needed bath.  
  
Minutes later, he emerged, rejuvenated after his bath, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. He found Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan in the courtyard, scampering to and fro after a brightly colored paper balloon that a laughing Keisuke kept passing to them. Dressed in a Western-style vest and suit he looked like a strangely colored spider, jumping here and there with his long legs and arms. Not wanting to intrude on the scene, Yahiko hung back uncertainly.  
  
But Keisuke saw him, and tossed the balloon to Yahiko with a grin. "Join us?" he asked cheerfully.  
  
"Looks like a private party," said Yahiko hesitantly, catching the ball as it drifted down into his hands. He watched Suzume glomp gleefully onto Keisuke's leg and felt his heart sink within him. Looking away, he wondered about his own reaction.  
  
"Hey, everyone's invited. It turned out that Ayame-chan still remembers who I am. Who'd have thought?" Affection shining in his brown eyes, Keisuke winked at Ayame, who happily cried, "Yaki-san! Yaki-san!"  
  
/*Yaki-san?*/ Yahiko let his eyes do the questioning. Keisuke shrugged and grinned.  
  
"When I was still a student here, Ayame was a little girl. Whenever she dropped by the dojo with Genzai-sensei I'd always take her out to buy her imagawa-yaki in the market."  
  
Yahiko remembered them. Small pastries filled with sweet red bean jam, they were commonly sold by street vendors downtown. He remembered, sometimes his mother would spare him some yen so that he could treat himself to some. He was still such a child then...  
  
"Oro?" Yahiko blinked, shaking free of his memories. Keisuke, Ayame, and Suzume were all looking at him expectantly. "Did someone say something?"  
  
"Yaki-san said for us to fly kites on the riverbank," said Ayame patiently. "Come with us, Yahiko-nii."  
  
"Haaai! Come with us!" Suzume squealed, then giggled as Keisuke lifted her to his shoulders. Suddenly her smile wavered as she clutched at Keisuke's shirt for a handhold and peered nervously down -- and down, and down, for Keisuke was definitely tall. "Kowai," gulped Suzume.  
  
"Maybe I'd better take her," grinned Yahiko, and held out his hands for Suzume. "Gomen nasai, Niimi-san, but I guess she isn't used to being at such a height. She usually doesn't like to be on Sano's shoulders much either."  
  
Keisuke laughed. "I guess sometimes it isn't so good to be as tall as I am."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The weather was sunny but windy -- perfect for kite-flying. Keisuke took them to a secluded part of the riverbank, where no one would interrupt their fun. "This is where Kaoru and I used to fly kites all the time when we were kids," he explained as he set down their things on the soft grass. "Kaoru and I made our own kites and we dueled all the time. Usually Kaoru won."  
  
"Or you let her win," muttered Yahiko, watching Suzume fumble with the paints and brushes Keisuke had brought.  
  
Keisuke chuckled. "I heard that." He was busy putting the last touches on his own kite -- a simple dark blue one with a pattern of white circles that reminded Yahiko of the sea. The boy had watched in fascination as Keisuke had deftly made a box-type kite. Although it was still a relatively simple and common design, it was interesting to see the transformation.  
  
Off to one side, the girls were decorating their own, simpler diamond-shaped kites. "Mou!" Ayame chewed on the end of her braid. "This doesn't look like Ken-nii at all!"  
  
Yahiko, turning to look, had to agree. It took supreme effort to keep from exploding into laughter at the stick figure of circles and lines, with the limbs sprawled at unnatural angles and the eyes focused in different directions. "Well, at least you got the colors right," he managed to say politely, noting the mess of red-orange paint and the great violet ovals at the head of the figure. Suzume, concentrating on painting her own kite with a cat, looked over and giggled.  
  
They spent a peaceful afternoon flying their kites, and the dark shapes soared in the sky, seeming to compete with the clouds that raced past. After a while even Yahiko apparently forgot about his refusal to fly a kite of his own -- "Kites are for kids!" -- and, when Suzume grew tired and fell to napping on the grass, handled her kite with such skill that Keisuke complimented him.  
  
"Aw, it's really pretty easy," said Yahiko gruffly, trying to hide his pleasure. "Even though I've never flown a kite before, I guess it's fun, after all."  
  
"I can't believe you've never flown kites before. I'm glad you got to do this before you got any older." Keisuke spoke gently, careful not to disturb Ayame, who was asleep, curled up by his side. "I think every boy should know how to fly a kite."  
  
Suddenly Yahiko thought of Kenshin. A man with such a tragic past, who had never known real happiness until he had gone through real suffering and sorrow -- had he ever known a day like this, peaceful and innocent, spent with no regrets over the past and no cares for the future? When his thoughts were not of blood or duty or death -- were only for the string in his fingers and the kite that tugged at his hands, the cry of the birds, the wind in his hair?  
  
And Yahiko thought of Kaoru, laughing and childlike, her blue eyes glinting as she challenged Keisuke to a kite duel. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, her fingers sure and steady as she manipulated the string, giving and taking in the length as she saw fit. For one moment, cradled by the wind between sky and earth, she was young, unmarred yet by the harshness of life, mindful only of the flight of her paper toy.  
  
"You're thinking pretty deeply."  
  
Yahiko felt his cheeks heat and he glanced angrily at Keisuke, sensing some deeper underlying joke, but the young man was not looking at him. Instead, he was taking in his kite. "It's getting a little late," he was saying mildly. "We should get back. I know we left a note but Kaoru might get worried." He looked at Yahiko and smiled. "All right?"  
  
Yahiko shrugged and began pulling in his own kite. He heard Keisuke move around quietly behind him, picking up their scattered things and packing them together in the bag he had brought.  
  
As they walked home together in the setting sun, Yahiko cradling the sleeping Suzume while Keisuke carried Ayame against his shoulder, Yahiko asked quietly, "Keisuke?"  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
"How long've you known Kaoru?"  
  
Keisuke paused. "Since she was about eight. Otousan began my kenjutsu studies when I turned ten years old."  
  
Yahiko watched as a flock of cranes took flight, black, graceful outlines against the red of the sun. "So I guess you really know her well, ne? You seem to go back a long way."  
  
"We were good friends. She didn't have any older brothers, and I guess she thought of me as one. When she grew a little older..." Here Keisuke stopped, smiling to himself.  
  
Yahiko glanced at him. "Well?" Then he caught himself. "Sumanu," he said, shaking his head, "you don't have to answer that. I'm being too personal."  
  
But Keisuke did not seem to notice. "I had this crush on her for the longest time," he said, absently, as if recalling pleasant memories.  
  
"Finally I got up the guts to approach her. Not as her best friend, not as the guy who took her out to fly kites and play hide-and-seek in the woods, but as... something more.  
  
"It was Tanabata, and we went to enjoy the festival. Since I was such a good friend of Kaoru's and one of Kamiya-sensei's best  
  
students, it was easy to get her out alone with me. We had such a good time, looking around among the shops." Keisuke gently shifted his hold to a more comfortable position as Ayame shifted against him restlessly. "Finally I led her out to this place by the river that I knew she liked. It was out near the road, not too far from the dojo, and Kaoru always loved to see the fireflies in the summer evenings."  
  
Yahiko said nothing. He had a feeling he knew the place Keisuke was describing.  
  
"We had a long talk that night, and I discovered... that she could return my feelings for her. I was the happiest boy alive that night. When I took her home again I could feel my heart bursting in my chest like the best Tanabata fireworks." Keisuke grinned, shook his head. "It was bliss for months after that. Inside the dojo she was the shihandai and I was the deshi, but outside--"  
  
Keisuke's eyes shone fiercely in the dimming light, and his voice was warm with remembered happiness. Yahiko looked away, not sure how he should react.  
  
Keisuke sighed. "But it wasn't to last. The spring after that, otousan made me leave the dojo. It was time to take up more serious studies, he said. Of course, he wanted me to become a navy man, like him. The navy was being expanded and developed by the government, and new technology was advancing everyday. Otousan thought I'd have a better life if I joined the navy. I didn't really care where I ended up, but because he wanted us to move to Yokohama so that I could study there, I fought him." Keisuke smiled wryly. "It isn't easy to argue against your father, much less actually win. I didn't. But I didn't like long goodbyes, so I simply sent a message to Kaoru right before we left. We never actually got to say farewell to each other." He chuckled, rubbing his head. "She was plenty mad about that when I got back."  
  
"So now you took the first chance you could to come back home, huh?" Yahiko still did not look at him, but instead stared ahead, as the familiar walls that surrounded the dojo loomed into view in the gathering twilight. "Hmph." Yahiko folded his arms behind his head and raised his eyebrows. "No offense, Keisuke, but I'm sure you could've had a bunch of prettier girls other than the busu. Why are you going to make yourself suffer? She can't even cook, and she hits people over the head all the time. She sure hasn't been any too gentle to me with that last part."  
  
Laughing, Keisuke shook his head. "Well, I guess either I'm just an idiot or I just see her in a different light, Yahiko."  
  
As they approached the gate, Yahiko stopped and caught hold of Keisuke's arm. Puzzled, Keisuke looked down at him, and he stared unflinching back.  
  
"Tell me one more thing," he stated. "You wanna marry her, don'tcha?"  
  
For a moment Keisuke was silent, his face in shadow. Ayame yawned and sat up in his arms, sleepily rubbing her eye with a tiny fist, and Keisuke carefully cradled her, making sure she kept her balance on his arm.  
  
Taking his silence for indecision, Yahiko, satisfied, prepared to move on.  
  
"Yahiko."  
  
The boy stopped, looked back expectantly.  
  
Keisuke was smiling broadly. "Why do you think I came back?"  
  
Suzume stirred awake and slipped from Yahiko's arms, and clutching Keisuke's hand, hurried past the stunned boy through the gate, eager for home. Keisuke followed suit, long legs easily loping after the little girl.  
  
Only when Keisuke had gone past him into the dojo, and Suzume and Ayame's joyful cries met Kenshin's gentle greeting, did the boy realize that he was still standing all alone outside, in the purple shadows of summer evening gathering beneath the gate.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku *  
  
  
  
  
  
Ara... it seems I might have a slight gate fixation, ne? (sweatdrop) Everything just seems to happen at the gate. Yare yare... 


	4. Hopes and Fears

glossary:  
  
Okaasan = Mother  
  
oro? = Kenshin's trademark interjection for rurouni-like surprise, apprehension, curiosity, amazement, bewilderment, pain, etc.  
  
shoji = wood-and-rice-paper sliding panel for establishing partitions between rooms and corridors  
  
tokonoma = traditional painted screen or alcove usually in the front room of a Japanese home  
  
rurouni = Watsuki-sama says he just invented this word. ^.^ anyway, it's SAID to mean "wanderer" or "vagabond"  
  
ne? = all-around tag question: "...don't you think?" "wouldn't you agree?" "isn't it?" and so on.  
  
yare yare = Kenshinism, similar to "oh well"  
  
"Kenshin ga baka" = lit. "Kenshin is an idiot"  
  
ja! = "bye!" or "see you!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Four: Hopes and Fears  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kaoru frowned as she eyed her reflection in the mirror. The rice powder seemed a bit... much, but she had already applied and reapplied it several times in the last few minutes and she wasn't about to do another repetition. With a last, critical glance, she began hesitantly painting her lips.  
  
Not for the first time, she wished her mother were still alive. Kaoru had never done this before, this -- face-painting, save for the one  
  
time when she was four years old and caught dabbling her fingers in her mother's pastes and powders. As Kaoru brought her red-smeared fingers to her mouth, she smiled at the memory.  
  
Her makeup done, she stood up and stepped back, surveying herself in the mirror. The lovely pale blue silk kimono was a gift from Keisuke. Smiling with pleasure, she turned around, seeing sunshine glimmer along the opalescent folds, glint off the embroidered cherry blossoms on the sleeves. Kaoru closed her eyes, remembering the glow in Keisuke's eyes as he presented to her the beautiful garment that she had admired in a shop window only the day before, remembering the warmth of his hand on her shoulder as they walked homeward. Embracing herself with a soft rustle of fabric, Kaoru sighed.  
  
/Okaasan,/ she thought, nestling against Keisuke's remembered warmth. /Okaasan. I wish you were here. Help me decide.../ She  
  
sighed again and opened her eyes, stared at her reflection in the mirror, imagined Keisuke standing there beside her. She blinked. For  
  
some reason, Keisuke kept fading away, being replaced by...  
  
There was soft humming outside, a cheerful, tuneless humming, and padding sounds that meant Kenshin was outside on the porch, no  
  
doubt about his rounds gathering laundry from the rooms. Kaoru felt her cheeks heat.  
  
"Kenshin," she called, sparing a last glance at her reflection.  
  
"Oro?" came the distant reply. Then, shuffling sounds, and a silhouette against the wall. "You called, Kaoru-dono?"  
  
"It's all right, you can come in."  
  
The shoji slid aside and Kenshin beamed cheerfully in the doorway, still carrying a basketful of clothes. "You've been pretty quiet  
  
in here for some time, Kaoru-dono--"  
  
Kaoru turned toward him. "How do I look?"  
  
He stopped. His eyebrows shot up. His eyes widened, the purple in them lightened to lavender. He opened his mouth, then closed it.  
  
Kaoru felt new heat flood her face as he stared at her -- no, gaped was probably a more precise term.  
  
"Well?" she snapped, impatiently, as he continued to say nothing. The pleasure of him looking at her was quickly souring into hurt and  
  
embarrassment. "Say something!"  
  
"Ano..." Kenshin smiled at her, but it was a polite smile and Kaoru saw that in a second. It must have shown in her face for Kenshin's smile soon faltered. "Kaoru-dono..."  
  
"You don't like it, do you?" Kaoru turned away and stomped over to put together the clothes she had discarded. "Don't be so scared,  
  
Kenshin -- just spit it out!"  
  
"Oro..."  
  
"Don't 'oro' me!" Kenshin quickly took a step back as an enraged Kaoru descended on him, waving her bundle of laundry threateningly. "I  
  
can tell you hate it! Well, what would you know about women anyway, you... you... rurouni!"  
  
With all the force she could muster she flung the bundle of clothing at him. Kenshin caught it square in the chest and went flying backward with a yelp. As he crashed into the ground she slid her shoji shut with a thunderous "Kenshin no BAKA!!"  
  
Sanosuke was just leaping over the back gate as Kaoru's shout came echoing. He heard the tremendous person-against-ground impact as  
  
well and winced. The person sounded just the way Kenshin would sound if he were flung against the ground at great velocity.  
  
Sure enough, Sano found his friend spiral-eyed on the ground in the center of the yard. His basket of clothes had exploded into a rain of laundry all around him. Sanosuke was about to go to him when the door to Kaoru's room slammed open and the young woman herself  
  
came stalking out.  
  
"Ohayou, Jou-chan," Sano said cheerily, ignoring the thundercloud expression on Kaoru's face. "What did Kenshin do this time? Hell, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. What did Kenshin do this time?"  
  
Kaoru turned a sweet smile on him, although the knuckles on the hand that clutched her bag were white. As Kaoru had planned, Sanosuke got the full effect of Kaoru's makeup as she turned toward him. He grinned and leaned against the wall, his dark eyes lingering over her partly in amusement and partly in surprised admiration.  
  
"I'm glad *you're* not immune to a woman's charm, Sanosuke," Kaoru said sweetly. "Thank you for your compliment. I'm sure *you* know  
  
how to appreciate women."  
  
"Hey, it's no secret." Sanosuke glanced at Kenshin at found the rurouni still out cold in the yard. Figuring his friend didn't need any  
  
emergency attention just yet, he followed Kaoru to the front room. "So what's the big occasion, being all dressed up like that?"  
  
"Keisuke's taking me out all afternoon. He has only four days left before he gets back to his ship and he wants to spend them with me." Sano shook his head as Kaoru continued, "He'll be arriving soon to pick me up here."  
  
"Sailor-boy again? He's pretty persistent, ne?" Sano, carelessly leaning against the tokonoma, looked at Kaoru as she kneeled down on the tatami. Kaoru's voice was sharp in her response.  
  
"Well at least he's doing *something.* And he really likes me. This new kimono was a gift from him, you know. It's only been about three  
  
weeks but he's done everything he can to show me how much he cares about me."  
  
/Unlike *whom*, Jou-chan?/ Sanosuke thought, watching as Kaoru's expressive face changed emotion the way a leaf in sunlight changed color -- pleasure, awe, hope, pride, and finally disappointment and discontent, all in mere moments. Sano made no comment as Kaoru's blue eyes flashed -- in anger? -- with the last words. Then he shrugged, feigning nonchalance.  
  
"Yare yare. I thought I could mooch lunch if I came over here but I guess Kenshin's too unconscious to cook anything."  
  
Kaoru's feathery eyebrows drew together in irritation. "Kenshin ga baka. He didn't even say anything nice to me when he saw how I was  
  
dressed. In fact, from his reaction you'd think I was wearing some ratty old getup. He didn't even notice how I'd made myself up. And this is the first time I've ever done this. You'd think a nice, polite rurouni like him would realize that I've never done this before. But no." There was a suspicious choke in her voice with the last statement, and as Sano glanced at her she turned away quickly. "All he did was gawk at me and say 'Oro'... baka!"  
  
/Baka indeed,/ Sanosuke thought, thinking of Kenshin and sighing in mingled disgust and despair. /Kenshin, I know I'm dense but  
  
sometimes you beat everything I've ever done.../  
  
Kaoru was not yet finished. "I'm just glad Yahiko's out at the Akabeko. If I had to take that jerk along with that stupid wanderer then  
  
somebody'd *really* get hurt!"  
  
"Ohayou!" came a cheerful shout from the gate.  
  
"That must be Kei-kun now." Kaoru got up quickly, smoothing the folds of her kimono. "Well, I'll be going, Sano. Thanks for letting me  
  
talk." Sano made no reply as she smiled at him, but he merely gave her his most solemn look. Kaoru laughed. "Sanosuke, I'm not used to you so serious. It doesn't suit you at all... Ja!" and she was out of the room. Sanosuke heard her geta clack against the wooden floor toward the gate.  
  
He sighed and went to see how Kenshin was doing. He had new plans for the afternoon, but first of all it was almost lunchtime...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku * 


	5. A Doctor's Hands, a Woman's Heart

glossary:  
  
komban wa = good evening  
  
sou ka? = is that so?  
  
iie = no  
  
uso yo = that's a lie!  
  
hontou wa = that is true.  
  
nani = what?  
  
sessha = literally "this unworthy/lowly one"... Kenshin the Rurouni referring to himself in a very humble way  
  
Mite de gozaru ka? = Do you see?  
  
Masaka! = "Impossible!" or "It can't be!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Five: A Doctor's Hands, a Woman's Heart  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
There he was.  
  
Just as she had expected.  
  
Megumi hid a smile as she walked in through the gate and approached the slight figure that sat silent and upright on the porch. Warm yellow light from a nearby lamp illuminated the faded red gi and worn white hakama, the graceful arc and polished steel and wood of the sheathed sakabatou.  
  
Megumi stopped several paces from Kenshin and bowed. "Komban wa, Ken-san."  
  
"Komban wa, Megumi-dono," Kenshin replied warmly. "You're out late tonight."  
  
"There was an emergency at the clinic, and I thought I'd drop by on my way home." /Not to mention that Sanosuke stopped by the clinic a  
  
few hours ago and told me everything,/ thought Megumi. At Kenshin's gesture, she knelt down beside him on the porch with a nod of thanks. "All alone out here? Where's Yahiko-chan?" Her tones were light, teasing.  
  
"He's in his room, asleep."  
  
"And what are *you* staying up for, Ken-san?" Megumi asked coyly. "Daijoubu ka? You don't look entirely at ease."  
  
Kenshin smiled, his deep violet eyes large and serene. "Everything is fine, Megumi-dono. Everything" -- he seemed to correct himself --  
  
"is as it should be."  
  
"Sou ka?"  
  
Megumi had lost her flirtatious tone. She watched Kenshin intently, soberly, watched the lamplight play across his thoughtful face in soft  
  
flickering yellow. Perhaps aware of her scrutiny, Kenshin smiled slightly and indicated the teapot that sat on a tray near him. Megumi shook her head, wordlessly declining his offer.  
  
Kenshin sipped his tea and said nothing. The breeze picked up, singing softly to itself among the bamboo. Out in the street, the footfalls and shouts of late-night revelers came echoing to their ears, fading slowly away into the distance.  
  
Megumi sighed.  
  
"Kaoru-chan still hasn't come home yet?"  
  
Kenshin put down his cup, shaking his head. "Iie. But Niimi-san will take good care of her, I know. And she did say that they would be out late tonight. I'm not worried."  
  
/Uso yo,/ thought Megumi, glancing at Kenshin's calm, unflustered expression. /You might not be worried about *that* exactly... but all the same you're worried./  
  
"I regret that I haven't been able to visit here more often," Megumi said casually. Bowing her head slightly so that her long black hair fell  
  
forward, she watched Kenshin carefully through her thick lashes. "Sanosuke tells me this Niimi person has been with Kaoru-chan everyday since he first came here."  
  
Kenshin took a sip of his tea. "Hontou wa."  
  
"And that he'll be leaving exactly four days from now. Going back to his ship, or some such thing."  
  
"Hai, de gozaru."  
  
"Then he must be stepping things up by now..."  
  
Kenshin paused, put aside his cup, and turned a gentle smile to Megumi. "I have no doubt, Megumi-dono."  
  
Megumi frowned. So he was *not* as oblivious as he seemed to be, after all. "And you're not doing anything, Ken-san?"  
  
Silence. Kenshin would not meet her gaze. Megumi twisted her hands together in her lap, stared down at them in frustration, wishing she  
  
could guess at his answer, chafing at her own inability to know.  
  
It was one of the things about him that infinitely fascinated her -- the way he kept to himself, unconsciously maintained a barrier between  
  
himself and the rest of the world. No one broke that barrier; he opened and shut it as he chose.  
  
Most of the men Megumi had met in her life fell easy prey to her charms; she delighted in probing the secrets of their souls, only to scorn  
  
the pettiness and weakness that she found there. But Kenshin was different. He was like an oyster, secret and solitary, hiding deep within the rich and lustrous promise of a pearl. What he revealed to her deepened her admiration for him. What he didn't, deepened her respect.  
  
She wanted to rush at Kenshin, throttle a response out of this quiet, pensive man, this strange,mysterious, and thus infinitely fascinating man who was able to elude all her questions, her probing and nagging -- but she held back desperately, knowing that such violent action would only prolong his silence.  
  
And so she sat, nervously twining her fingers among one another, wishing that he would speak and end her suspense.  
  
Finally, he did.  
  
"Kaoru-dono's life is her own." He looked away. "It is not for us to interfere."  
  
Stunned, staring furiously at the back of his head, Megumi fought against the overwhelming disappointment welling deep within her. Stinging tears rose to her eyes despite herself. Her hands clenched into fists inside their sleeves.  
  
"Ken-san..." Megumi's whisper trembled with bitter disbelief. "Nani...?"  
  
"Sumanai de gozaru," and Kenshin looked back at her, his eyes perfectly calm, his gaze understanding, "if what I said was not what you  
  
wished to hear." He picked up his cup of tea and cradled it in his lap, staring fixedly down at it. Hair the color of fire fell forward, shading his face from Megumi's gaze. "Demo... it is truth, though we close our eyes to it as we wish.  
  
"We have been so happy here, ne, Megumi-dono?" There was a ghost of wistfulness in his soft, low voice. "Kaoru-dono, Sanosuke, Yahiko-kun, you, and sessha... Though we are not perfect, together we have created a family anyone would envy. When we got back from Kyoto I said 'Tadaima'... and at that time I believed it. I meant it with all my heart." Kenshin raised his head, glanced around the moonlit dojo, as if carefully imprinting its every feature into his memory. Megumi shuddered at the thought, at the thousand other, haunting thoughts it spawned, and shook her head to dispel her fear.  
  
"But even as man wishes to catch a firefly and keep it to forever lighten his home, fate has other plans. The firefly has wings. It flies away  
  
again. It is not meant to be caught and imprisoned within one man's house; it is meant to fly freely." Kenshin looked at Megumi. "Mite de  
  
gozaru ka, Megumi-dono?"  
  
Confronted with two serious violet eyes, seemingly bottomless in their very darkness, Megumi could only nod.  
  
"It is folly to think that we have control over our lives. We do not own them, neither can we direct them. Although it is tempting, we cannot believe that what is now, will always be... There is an end to all beginnings, and so..." Kenshin paused. "Things change..."  
  
Shocked, Megumi raised a trembling hand to her heart. /*Masaka!*/ flooded her mind with sheer anger, the stubborn refusal to believe.  
  
/Ken-san...!/  
  
"Keisuke is a good man." Kenshin's calm voice registered distantly through the stupefied fog in Megumi's head. "He is young, with a bright  
  
career in the navy. Already he is rising through the ranks. He was Kaoru-dono's good friend since her childhood, and he brings her sweet  
  
memories of the family she lost." He was silent for a moment. "And -- obviously -- he loves Kaoru-dono so much..."  
  
"Ken-san..." Dimly, Megumi realized that her kimono was wet, and that her tears were soaking into it as they coursed down her face.  
  
Kenshin turned to her. Purple eyes met cinnamon, and Megumi gasped.  
  
The barrier was broken. For a moment she could see the pain in the violet depths -- stark pain mirroring Megumi's own, the blind refusal to accept what he feared to be true, the frustration, anger, and unflinching passion of a man deeply, irrevocably in love. Megumi forgot  
  
her own tears at the raw, shining emotion in Kenshin's shattered eyes.  
  
Then the crack was gone, the break mended. Once again he was at peace. Kenshin smiled at Megumi and turned away. He took a sip from the cup he held in strong and steady fingers.  
  
"Sanosuke, I believe, fell asleep on the porch on the other side of the house. You can ask him to take you home, Megumi-dono."  
  
Megumi drew in a deep, shivering breath and nodded. She wiped her cheeks dry on a handkerchief she had in her sleeve and stood up.  
  
She started to leave, then stopped and lay a gentle hand on Kenshin's shoulder.  
  
"Ken-san. Take care of yourself."  
  
Kenshin smiled. "You too, Megumi-dono. Oyasumi nasai de gozaru."  
  
"Oyasumi nasai."  
  
Then Megumi left, heading to the back of the dojo, looking for Sanosuke.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku *  
  
  
  
Wahhh!!! Kenshiin!! You're such a WUSS!!!!! ;_; 


	6. Question

glossary:  
  
chotto = short for "chotto matte", "wait a moment"  
  
nan de gozaru ka? = what is it? Kenshin-style  
  
onegaishimasu = please  
  
wakatte = I understand  
  
omedetou = congratulations  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Six: Question  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The moon was beginning its descent and the crickets singing full blast when the first familiar voice broke the night's stillness. Kenshin looked up as Kaoru's hushed voice came echoing from the silent street outside.  
  
"Keisuke... do you think anyone's still up? I know I told Kenshin not to wait up, but now I guess I should have told him. Chotto, I have the key in my bag--"  
  
Kenshin opened the gate with a smile. "Okaeri nasai de gozaru."  
  
Relief flooded Kaoru's face as she looked up at him. "Oh, good. I thought you might be asleep already." But her blue eyes were cool and  
  
distant, and Kenshin realized she had not forgotten the events of the morning. /Oro.../ he groaned to himself. "Kei-kun, maybe you'd like  
  
some tea before you left. It's cold tonight and you'll be heading home alone." Kaoru glanced at Keisuke, who smiled and bowed.  
  
"I'd appreciate it, thanks."  
  
Kaoru walked past Kenshin into the dojo. "Well, if you don't mind, I'll be going ahead. I'm a little tired. And thank you," she added, smiling shyly back at Keisuke. "I had a wonderful time. Kenshin will bring you the tea, all right?"  
  
"This way, Niimi-san," Kenshin said politely, shutting the gate behind the two. Keisuke followed him to the front room as Kaoru went to  
  
her room, humming quietly.  
  
"I hope you both had a good time today." Having put the water on to boil in the kitchen, Kenshin entered the front room where Keisuke sat waiting. "Kaoru-dono hasn't been out on the town in some time."  
  
"I think she quite enjoyed herself. And it was a pleasure to take her around." Keisuke's eyes sparkled. "Kaoru is an... enchanting woman."  
  
"Aa." Kenshin smiled, gazing out the open doorway to where a thousand stars glittered against the night sky. "She is."  
  
"I know. That is why..."  
  
Keisuke's voice -- usually light and even -- trembled now. He seemed to have lost his earlier composure. Startled, feeling a cold  
  
apprehension inside him that he could not identify, Kenshin turned to the younger man. Keisuke had fallen silent, picking at his sleeves  
  
and averting his eyes from Kenshin's gaze.  
  
"Nan de gozaru ka?" prompted Kenshin gently, ignoring the fear that had begun to gnaw at his heart.  
  
Keisuke glanced up, his clear brown eyes met Kenshin's for a moment. Then the younger man seemed to meet a decision.  
  
He placed his hands flat on the tatami in front of him and bowed deeply, nearly flattening his forehead against the floor.  
  
"Himura Kenshin-san... In the absence of both of Kaoru's parents, I turn to you, her guardian. I humbly request--" Keisuke caught himself -- "no, I humbly *beg* your permission... for me to seek Kamiya Kaoru's hand in marriage."  
  
Kenshin stared at him.  
  
In marriage...  
  
He must have spoken the words aloud, for Keisuke swallowed audibly. "I've loved her ever since I was just a boy of ten... from the moment I laid eyes on her, I began to dream of the day we would be bound together for life. I can assure you, I will work the skin off my bones to give her everything she could possibly want. I'm not much just yet, but I'm going to work as hard as I can, everyday, and I'll do my very best to make her happy... What...?"  
  
Kenshin had said something, but as Keisuke raised confused eyes to him Kenshin realized he hadn't been heard.  
  
"I said," he repeated quietly, "you can get up now."  
  
Still nervous, watching him with wary eyes that surprised Kenshin with the depth of their longing, Keisuke straightened up from his kneeling position. Then, unable to control himself, he leaned forward again. Kenshin could not help admiring the love and hope in those dark eyes, and -- beneath it all -- the fierce determination to hold fast to his petition.  
  
"Onegaishimasu," he murmured, "won't you consider my suit?"  
  
Kenshin smiled and stood up. Keisuke's shining eyes followed him.  
  
"The water must be ready now. Excuse me for a moment."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As he reentered the front room, carrying the tray with the teapot and cups on it, Kenshin found much to admire in the young man he had left earlier. Although -- judging from the slumped shoulders and bowed head -- Keisuke was obviously crushed by Kenshin's inconclusive  
  
reaction, the young man still sat erect, his back proudly straight, and the strong hands were clenched as they rested on his knees.  
  
/An admirable young man,/ thought Kenshin.  
  
Keisuke looked up as Kenshin set the tray of tea down on the floor between them. Keisuke had dropped his earlier impassioned front; now he seemed calmer, though determination still burned in his eyes. He said nothing as Kenshin poured out the tea.  
  
"First of all, I am not the one you should ask," said Kenshin gently, passing the cup to Keisuke.  
  
The young man took it, staring at Kenshin in wordless confusion.  
  
"Sessha is not Kaoru-dono's guardian. I take it that you perceive me as some former retainer of Kaoru-dono's father, who watches over her as one would watch over a charge entrusted to him. But no." Kenshin took a sip of his tea and felt its heat slip down his throat. It failed to burn away the chiling sorrow inside him. "Sessha wa rurouni... It's a long story, but I'm only a wanderer, helping keep the dojo in return for room and board. I have no relation to Kaoru-dono."  
  
Kenshin sipped his tea again and stared down at the cup, breathing in the curling steam.  
  
/Sessha wa rurouni.../  
  
"And second -- even if I did, I still would not be the one you should ask. Kaoru-dono makes her own decisions -- she always has. I'm sure you know that," and he glanced at Keisuke, who still made no reply. "If you wish to marry her, you should go to her."  
  
He finished his tea and set his cup aside. He was aware of Keisuke's deep brown eyes on him, thoughtful and serious, and knew the young  
  
man's curiosity was piqued by his earlier confession. Kenshin sighed and braced himself for the inevitable questions. /Yare yare.../ He  
  
had said what he was supposed to, after all, and that was what mattered.  
  
But Keisuke merely smiled. Again, he bowed deeply. "Wakatte," he said. "Arigatou, Himura-san. You have been of great help."  
  
As he stood up and prepared to leave Kenshin stood up as well. "Daijoubu de gozaru ka, Niimi-san?"  
  
"Hai. Daijoubu. Don't worry about me." Keisuke smiled.  
  
"I will accompany you to the gate." The two men put on their slippers and headed toward the gate. "You have a lantern with you?" Kenshin asked politely.  
  
"Aa. Our quarters are not so far away, anyway. I don't wish to disturb Kaoru so very late, so please tell her later that I've gone home."  
  
"All right." Kenshin began to shut the gate, then hesitated. "Ano... Niimi-san..."  
  
Keisuke stopped, looked back questioningly.  
  
"Take care of Kaoru-dono. I think she will be very happy when you ask her."  
  
Keisuke smiled. "I hope so. I plan to ask her tomorrow. Wish me luck."  
  
And, even though he tried with all his might, Kenshin found that he couldn't.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Light still flickered from Kaoru's room at the far end of the corridor. Kenshin tried to fight off his growing misgivings and knocked.  
  
There was a rustling sound, like cloth rubbing against cloth. "Yes?"  
  
"Komban wa, Kaoru-dono. I know that it's late, but since you're still awake... I thought you might like some tea."  
  
At her quiet assent he slid open the door and walked in with the tray of tea. The beautiful kimono had been carefully laid aside. Kaoru had changed into a yukata and now knelt in front of a mirror, removing her makeup with a soft cloth that she had moistened with water. Seeing how she struggled to hold the mirror and remove her makeup at the same time, Kenshin went over and took hold of the mirror, placing his hand over hers.  
  
Startled, Kaoru looked up, a faint blush tainting her cheeks. After a moment, she let go of the mirror with a soft "Arigatou." As Kenshin held it for her, she finished wiping away the last traces of her makeup.  
  
"I heard Keisuke leave," she said quietly.  
  
"Yes, he didn't want to disturb you any further, he said." Kenshin put down the mirror as Kaoru picked up a cup of steaming tea. For a minute he watched silently as she sipped the tea, watched the yellow glow of the lantern warm her face.  
  
Then, "Omedetou de gozaru, Kaoru-dono," he whispered.  
  
Kaoru's eyes flickered toward him as she took another sip. "Nani, Kenshin?" Though visibly tired, her blue eyes were still bright and curious as they focused on him.  
  
Kenshin smiled despite the strange breathlessness, the odd constriction he felt in his chest. "Niimi-san cares for you very much."  
  
She smiled dreamily. "You think so? Why? Did he tell you something?"  
  
Kaoru looked so beautiful, her cheeks pink, her eyes starry, awash in the lantern's warm light, that Kenshin could not look at her. "You'll find out tomorrow," he forced past the painful knot in his throat. Quickly he rose to his feet. "I'll leave the tea here and go on to bed now, if it's all right with you."  
  
"H-hai." Kaoru clutched the warm teacup to herself, stared down into the swirling depths. "Thank you... for everything. Oyasumi, Kenshin."  
  
In the open doorway, Kenshin paused. "Oyasumi de gozaru, Kaoru-dono." He started to leave but stopped again. Kaoru looked up at him  
  
expectantly as he glanced back, irresolute. Their eyes met.  
  
"You really do love him, ne?" he asked softly.  
  
Kaoru's eyes flashed icy blue. She lowered her gaze. "Of course I do, baka."  
  
Silently, Kenshin shut the shoji behind him and left.  
  
As he padded away down the corridor, he looked about him at the dojo, still and peaceful in the night's shadows. There was a heavy feeling in him that he had given up fighting, a sense of irredeemable loneliness and wistful regret he had not known since...  
  
...since his rurouni days.  
  
Kenshin sighed and continued walking. Then he started as a sound broke the hush and stillness, a sound that came from Kaoru's room, muted and distant yet jarringly sudden.  
  
The crash of fragile ceramic flung against wood.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku *  
  
  
  
ororoooorooo... it's 12:53 a.m... I just knew that if I didn't conclude this chapter right now I'd never get any sleep. does it seem a little heavyhanded to you? or maybe a trifle OOC? I think it stands to reason that it's *quite* late (especially for Kaoru, who I imagine usually keeps much saner hours) and that both of them are under considerable emotional stress at the moment.  
  
  
  
yare yare. you know what to do with the C&C... 


	7. Answer

Again, my thanks. You have kept me alive on this long and difficult road...  
  
  
  
  
  
glossary:  
  
sessha wa rurouni = "I am a wanderer." Kenshin's ever-memorable line from the first episode/issue, and from the Sayonara scene (boohoo!).  
  
futon = Japanese mattress  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Seven: Answer  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Moonlight crept upon the city as the night deepened. All over Tokyo, people were going to bed. Light shone only from the restaurants and shops that were already closing for the night.  
  
/Sessha wa rurouni./  
  
His words to Keisuke the night before echoed in Kenshin's mind as he silently slid open the door to Kaoru's empty room. Padding swiftly through, he drew from inside his gi a small, carefully folded sheet of paper. He moved toward the folded futon, hesitated, then quickly lay the paper on top before he could change his mind.  
  
In the doorway he paused again and looked back. On the chest that stood against the wall lay a ribbon -- Kaoru had worn it all day. Slowly, fighting the urge inside him to hurry, to be on his way before he was discovered -- the hitokiri's wary vigilance and the rurouni's eternal restlessness -- Kenshin picked up the ribbon, sliding it between tentative fingers. He brought it to his face with a sigh, breathing in the scent of Kaoru's hair that lingered in the silk.  
  
He felt furtive, guilty, like a thief, like a child doing what he knew was wrong. And so he allowed himself only another breath of Kaoru before the ribbon was back in its place on the chest and he was gone, the shoji sliding shut with barely a rasp of wood against wood.  
  
Outside the air was sweet and balmy, the stars glowing feebly behind a screen of cloud. Kenshin found himself lingering in the shadows of the yard, circling the building soundlessly. His quick eyes wandered over the dojo as it stood dark and silent, picking out old scars, old memories.  
  
The panel in the front part of the house, obviously newer than the panels that stood next to it. Sanosuke had repaired this panel after his first bloody encounter with Saitou so many months ago--cursing freely, of course, about a Jou-chan who wouldn't cut a guy who'd just been stabbed through the shoulder a little slack.  
  
The barely perceptible crack running finely down the wall in another part of the house, where Kenshin had attacked the wall, lost in his memories of the Shinsengumi.  
  
Another crack, this time in the fence, where Kaoru had thrown Kenshin in her rage after the engagement ring fiasco. Kenshin shook his head and smiled. What a Tanabata that had been for everyone.  
  
As he walked through the dojo, flitting through the corridors like a ghost with his godspeed, more memories drifted to him. The courtyard, scene of so many happy moments with Yahiko, Sano, Megumi, Genzai-sensei, and the two little girls. The well, where he had spent countless peaceful mornings doing laundry -- perhaps an ignoble task for a hitokiri, but then he vastly preferred to have soapwater on his hands instead of blood.  
  
The tension was singing in his veins as he rounded the last corner. Time was of the essence. Yahiko would be getting back from the Akabeko any minute now. And, although Keisuke had taken Kaoru out for a walk after dinner, there was no telling what time they would return. Kenshin strove to quell the rising urgency inside him. There was one last place to visit before he left.  
  
He left his bag at the doorstep and stepped inside the dojo. The training hall stretched before him, cloaked in shadow, but he needed no light to see the rack of bokken at the end, the wall screen hanging in its honored place on the wall. The dim moonlight filtering in through the doorway glowed on the students' boards, pitifully few.  
  
/"I didn't say I wanted Battousai to stay! I want the wanderer..."/  
  
He had been surprised at that. Such spirit, pure and unfettered. He had not known many men like that, few women, and certainly no girls. Until now, after ten years of wandering, in a rundown dojo on the outskirts of Tokyo.  
  
/"Well, at least tell me your real name..."/  
  
/Himura. Himura Kenshin./  
  
Kenshin picked up his bag and left, quietly shutting the doors on the dojo as he did.  
  
/I'm a little tired of wandering./  
  
He was. Now that he had found a home, it was getting harder and harder to leave it behind. Kenshin sighed, blocking from his mind images of Suzume-chan and Ayame-chan, Yahiko turning wide eyes to him, seeking advice for battle. Sano chewing his fishbone and arguing with Megumi, whose fox ears had sprouted again.  
  
No. Kenshin gripped his sakabatou in his hand and approached the gate. The Kamiya dojo may have been home for... some time. But it had never really become his. Always, people had their own lives, their own destinies -- and his was not to be found here.  
  
At least, not anymore.  
  
/Sessha wa rurouni,/ thought Kenshin resolutely as he sped across the lawn. Then, unable to control himself, he glanced back one last time. The dojo was quiet, peaceful in the darkness, a benevolent hulk looming against the star-studded sky.  
  
/Sessha wa.../  
  
/This unworthy one./  
  
/Kaoru-dono. Be happy./  
  
Kenshin unlocked the gate with a sigh that was silent as the autumn wind.  
  
/Ai shiteru, Kaoru-dono...  
  
Kaoru./  
  
Head bowed, he pushed open the gate.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku *  
  
  
  
  
  
gulp... stay tuned for the next part!  
  
ai shiteru = "I love you." I didn't include this in the glossary above -- it might've ruined the suspense, ne?  
  
only two more to go, kukuruu! ^.^x 


	8. Rebuttal

hello, everyone... heheh... I'm a little tired but I didn't want to let you down, ne... ^.^x And I *did* want to finish this series as soon as I could, anyhow. I didn't want to be left hanging, either. I hope you enjoy this one.  
  
  
  
  
  
glossary:  
  
geta = women's sandals, usually made of wood, with soles about an inch thick  
  
Kami-sama = God  
  
iie = no  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Eight: Rebuttal  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The air that had seemed so sweet and warm before had turned suddenly cold, tearing jaggedly into her lungs as Kaoru sucked in her breath with a gasp. She had been running only a short distance, but then she had been fighting to control her rising emotions as well.  
  
*Clop-clop-clop* went her geta on the hard-packed dirt street. The noise was abominable; it snapped against the stillness of a city asleep with what seemed like thunderous loudness. Somehow Kaoru felt that the faster she ran, the more loudly it echoed in the night.  
  
She gasped with relief as the familiar fence of the dojo came into view, dimly illuminated by street lamps. But just then her shoe finally turned on some stone, twisted beneath her foot, and she was thrown to her knees in the street, breathing hard.  
  
The first tears leaked out then, despite all her attempts to stop it. The salt droplets burned unnaturally cold against her hot face. Kaoru  
  
clenched her fists in their sleeves and let her sobs begin.  
  
He had brought her to that place by the river where the fireflies glowed amidst the shadows. Kaoru had stopped dead in the street when she realized where they were headed. She would have laughed out loud at the confused look on Keisuke's face, were not her heart so suddenly heavy within her at the memories that flooded her mind.  
  
/Of course,/ she realized. Keisuke knew nothing of the things that had taken place at this same spot since the summer evening so long ago, when they were mere teenagers swearing innocent love by the quiet waters. For him, the place held nothing but pleasant memories of youth.  
  
For Kaoru, it might have been the same -- until another summer evening not too long ago, in the arms of one for whom her heart had bled. It was strange how much she had always wanted to be held by him, yet -- the moment he did -- she wished he never had. Not if he did because he thought he would never be able to again...  
  
And when Keisuke brought out the small black box, his low voice shaking as he asked her the question she had been secretly fearing since  
  
Kenshin's intimations the night before, Kaoru knew what her answer would be. She knew it deep within her, had known it long before Keisuke ever arrived and began to shower her with his attention and his gifts. She had known ever since a certain redhead had left her in tears at this same place, months ago, on a sweet, sorrowful summer night.  
  
But when Kaoru looked up hesitantly from the entrancing glitter of the ring to the soft glow of Keisuke's pleading brown eyes, she knew she had not the heart to speak her answer.  
  
So she took a step backward, shaking her head wordlessly, turned, and ran. Ignoring Keisuke's startled shouts, which grew fainter in the distance even as his surprise changed to despair, Kaoru ran blindly, knowing her way through the night by sheer memory.  
  
And now she was on her knees by the gate, too tired to fight the emotion welling up inside her, not caring as hot tears burned their way down her powdered cheeks. It was a great temptation to simply stay here, collapsed gracelessly in the middle of the deserted street, and cry her heart out.  
  
/Baka,/ she thought grimly, wiping at her tears and trying to catch her breath. /You can't stay here all night. People will laugh at you... and besides, you might catch cold.../  
  
"Kaoru-dono?"  
  
Kaoru gasped. The voice was warm, husky, and terribly, horribly familiar... Embarrassed to the core of her being, she struggled awkwardly to stand up -- curse these stupid high-heeled geta -- and found strong hands guiding her gently yet firmly to her feet.  
  
"I-I..." What *did* one say in a situation like this?  
  
Wavering between extreme shame and confusion, Kaoru looked up through her long bangs into Kenshin's bottomless purple eyes full of concern. Vaguely Kaoru glanced behind her, hoping somehow that Keisuke was not coming after her. A stupid hope, but... "Kenshin..."  
  
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Niimi--" Kenshin's eyes flashed dangerously, and Kaoru thought she saw a glint of gold in the violet eyes. Perhaps it was just her tears, but... She clung to his arm, half-frantic, as he glared down the street in the direction from which she had come. "Where is he?" he demanded sharply. "Kami-sama help me, if he did something to you--"  
  
"Iie!" Kaoru spluttered, gripping Kenshin's arm with such force that Kenshin's head whipped toward her. The eyes still glittered. "Kenshin,  
  
Keisuke didn't do anything. Believe me! I'll explain later, but Keisuke is totally innocent!"  
  
His eyes softened somewhat, and he raised a hand toward her face as if to wipe away her tears, then he stopped. He grasped her shoulders instead, holding her firmly, steadily. "You're sure? Kaoru-dono..."  
  
"*Yes*, baka, I'm sure of it." Kaoru tried to smile, but found that she couldn't just yet. She settled for staring at him with what she hoped was a calm and level gaze.  
  
It seemed to work. Kenshin's eyes lost their fearsome light, and then he was the rurouni again, impeccably polite and gentle as he ushered her through the still-open gate. Kaoru clung to him thankfully as he half-supported, half-carried her toward the dojo. Then--  
  
"Kenshin. Is that a bag you're carrying?"  
  
Kenshin looked at her innocently, purple eyes round and wide. "Oro?"  
  
Kaoru, eyes narrowing, promptly forgot all about Keisuke. "Don't 'oro' me! You won't get away with this! You were leaving, weren't you?"  
  
Kenshin rubbed his face with his hand and his voice came out as a groan. "Kaoru-dono, I was hoping we wouldn't have to go through this..."  
  
"I can't believe you!" shrieked Kaoru. "You were going to leave again, weren't you? And you thought you'd just sneak away in the night while none of us would notice, and you'd never say goodbye to any of us and you'd never come back, and I bet you left just one little note in the house -- in my *room*, too, I'll bet -- and it wouldn't even *say* anything much, either, just enough so that your conscience would be clear and we wouldn't think you'd gotten into trouble..."  
  
By now her voice had become so choked, her throat so painful, that she was forced to sputter to a halt and instead began to beat him forcefully about the head and shoulders with her fists, rasping "Kenshin no *baka*!" over and over again. She relished every pained "Oro!" that he gave. It might be the last time she would ever hear it...  
  
Dimly she realized that he had wrapped his hands about his wrists and stilled them against his chest. Cursing the imperceptible strength of this man whom she loved against all better judgement -- his strength that so easily subdued her own -- she curled her hands into fists and struggled weakly against his grasp. And she realized she had begun to cry again.  
  
He saw it too, and then he looked as if he, too, might cry with her.  
  
"Oh, Kaoru-dono..." he whispered, and the soft remorse in his voice made Kaoru cry even harder, pressing against him ferociously, burying  
  
her face in his chest. He held her close almost tentatively, as if afraid that she would break. "Oh, Kaoru-dono... I made you cry..."  
  
"You made me cry so many times before, baka," she whispered fiercely against his chest. "When you left for Kyoto... I cried so hard. Days. Maybe no one ever told you, but it took Megumi-san and Yahiko and Tae-san and Tsubame-chan to make me stop. And then in your fight with Shishio -- I wanted to be strong for you so much, but after the fight against Kamatari and the others, that night..."  
  
"Kaoru-dono..." Shocked, Kenshin started to draw back. Kaoru looked up at him, sniffling, her blue eyes glimmering with tears, and clutched at him with a strength that startled him.  
  
"Don't go. Don't go, Kenshin. I don't care what happens to me. I don't care how much I cry for you, how often or for what reason. It doesn't matter because I love you. Against all better judgement. Don't you see?" Her eyes were so bright, so passionate, that Kenshin found himself staring into them, transfixed. "Keisuke is a good friend. A very good friend. We used to be more than that. But that was before. And I know now -- *this* is how it will always be. That's why, when he asked me to marry him... I ran away. I couldn't say what needed to be said because it would break his heart." Greatly daring, Kaoru touched his cheek with a trembling hand. "But I will never be his wife. Because there is no one on this earth whose wife I want to be, no one -- other than you, Kenshin."  
  
She fell silent then, perhaps finally realizing the extent of what she had said. Her cheeks reddened. Bowing her head shyly, she lowered her hand and began to move away -- but Kenshin grasped her wrist.  
  
Slowly, with closed eyes and infinite tenderness, he leaned into her touch, playing her fingers lightly across his scarred cheek. Kaoru caught her breath in wonder as his cool skin nestled in the warmth of her palm.  
  
"Kaoru-dono," he murmured. Kaoru gasped as he suddenly embraced her. Her eyes blurred with tears. "Kaoru-dono. Arigatou de gozaru."  
  
Silently, Kaoru hugged him back, exerting all of her slender strength in holding him close.  
  
"Thank you... and..." Kenshin sighed again, warm breath tickling Kaoru's ear. She shivered. "I love you, too." Warm liquid dripped onto Kaoru's kimono, trickled through her hair. "I love you. I love you. I *love* you."  
  
Kaoru's eyes were burning with exhaustion and the many tears she had shed that night. Her whole body was worn out with emotion. Still, cocooned in Kenshin's warmth, sheltered by his lean strength, she felt strong, refreshed, alive. Tears meandered down her cheeks again, and she wept soundlessly, happily into his gi.  
  
So absorbed were the two in their own private world that neither saw Keisuke standing outside in the street, staring at them through the gateway that still gaped open.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
* tsuzuku *  
  
  
  
Ara... (wipes forehead with a handkerchief already soggy with tears, sweat, and spit due to owner's nervously gnawing on it) Well, there it is. Part 8.  
  
about Keisuke's black box with the ring, I didn't really know what men kept engagement rings in in 1878 Japan. Since engagement rings were a Western concept, I assumed they'd be stored Western-style too. I couldn't quite imagine a diamond ring inside some  
  
traditional Japanese purse-box like netsuke. And I suppose the little black box would be timeless, ne? ^.^x  
  
Whaddaya think? Too soft and mushy? Too hard and awkward? Or juuust right? BTW... you may have noticed an (ahem) uncanny resemblance between this last bit and a certain Sayonara scene (my absolute favorite in the entire series). yare yare! 


	9. Resolution

WAAAAIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here it is at last -- the conclusion to this humble series of mine. I won't keep you waiting too long.  
  
  
  
  
  
glossary:  
  
gaijin = foreigners  
  
domo = thanks; less formal than the superformal "domo arigatou gozaimasu"  
  
datte = Kaoru's "but"  
  
aa = informal "yes"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kinou no Kakera (A Piece of Yesterday)  
  
by Mirune Keishiko  
  
  
  
Nine: Resolution  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"I wonder where Keisuke's been these past few days," said Kaoru, half to herself. She stopped sweeping the courtyard and propped up her chin on top of her broomhandle, staring thoughtfully out toward the street. "He said he'd be going back to his ship today. I haven't seen him since that night at the--"  
  
Kaoru caught herself just in time. Feeling her cheeks heat with the memories that came to her, she sneaked a glance at Kenshin.  
  
In the laundry tub by the well, Suzume and Ayame splashed gleefully, oblivious to Kaoru's slip of the tongue. Kenshin's smiling purple eyes met Kaoru's serious blue ones over the froth and suds as he sat down to the morning's laundry. "You know, you're right. I don't know him as well as you do, but it doesn't seem like him to just stop visiting us so suddenly."  
  
His voice was carefree and light as always, but just to be sure Kaoru continued to watch him as she pretended to continue sweeping the yard. Nothing seemed amiss, however. Kenshin appeared perfectly sunshiny as he playfully stirred up more bubbles in the water for the little girls to throw at him -- as they seemed to so enjoy doing.  
  
Relatively comforted, Kaoru went back to her sweeping with a vengeance. Autumn was setting in early, and already leaves covered the yard in feathery brown and red. As she went about her work, memories of that evening two days ago played in her mind.  
  
After Kaoru had recovered her customary courage -- with some help from Kenshin -- she had gone back to look for Keisuke, who was nowhere to be found. Kenshin had accompanied her then to Keisuke's quarters in the seaside part of the city. There they were told that he had come back, but house rules prohibited visitors at that late hour. Kaoru had left a short, apologetic message, which the clerk promised to pass on first thing in the morning, Kenshin and Kaoru went home -- and then nothing.  
  
Meanwhile, Kaoru was happy to find that the situation at the dojo improved considerably after that night. Though neither Kenshin nor she was given to loud, public displays of adoration, the others soon seemed to realize that -- somehow, while they had been looking the other way -- something had been broken between the two, some unconscious barrier that used to hold back all the power of their feelings for each other.  
  
Now, all of a sudden, Sanosuke was grinning constantly and deriving inordinate satisfaction from catching the two of them together, even in the most innocent circumstances. Yahiko was forever winking and teasing, unperturbed by the heaviest blows from Kaoru's bokken. Even Megumi, after a while of envious glances and coy remarks, appeared to be sincere in her congratulations to the slightly bewildered couple.  
  
/Maybe it really *is* obvious,/ thought Kaoru, absently eyeing Kenshin over her broom as he scrubbed away with the laundry. Kenshin *had* been especially solicitous toward her the past days, even in the simplest things like preparing her bath and bringing her her freshly laundered clothes at the end of the day. And Kaoru had had a hard time acting normally under the perpetual gaze of those soulful violet eyes that had never seemed quite so soulful before.  
  
As if sensing her scrutiny, Kenshin looked up. Kaoru caught her breath at those eyes, huge and dark, and at that moment as they focused on her, full of a heated passion that sent an unfamiliar thrill down her spine.  
  
Quickly Kaoru looked away, busied herself with her sweeping. From the corner of her eye she saw Kenshin return to his laundry, smiling slightly as he turned his attention back to a stain on one of Yahiko's shirts.  
  
There it was. Kaoru sighed and scraped listlessly at the ground with her broom. Kenshin was being supremely sweet, affectionate, and attentive the past few days, but... that was all. She often found him looking at her, with something hot and mysterious in his eyes that took her breath away even as it made her ache inside. It filled her with excitement as well as curiosity, and she kept waiting, longing for that moment he would follow up on what his worshipful eyes so eloquently said.  
  
But he never did.  
  
He had never touched her, never held her, never whispered to her, ever since that passionate embrace under the stars. After his repeated endearments that night, nothing but silence had followed. To herself, Kaoru admitted that she found his warm glances and  
  
tender ministrations wonderful, tantalizing... and sadly insufficient. What Kaoru refused to acknowledge was the doubt starting to take insidious root in her heart.  
  
Perhaps he had not meant it. Even Sano had said it before-- "Put him in a real-life situation with normal people and he's a complete pushover." Perhaps Kenshin had merely been too sympathetic, too solicitous to a woman confused.  
  
But then he had whispered sweet words, words of which she had given over her soul to dreaming; he had held her close, his tears had wet her hair. He was not the type to lie, or deceive, or even flirt. Surely he had not begun now.  
  
Kaoru mulled over this stubbornly as she cast another furtive glance at the rurouni seated by the well, gravely scrubbing yukata. /Baka!/ she thought suddenly, irritably. Perhaps her doubt was entirely unfounded, but then...  
  
She knew little of lovers, but she imagined they stole kisses constantly, they shared secret moments alone together, they talked and laughed and whispered and teased in a strange and beautiful world all their own. Kenshin was certainly not doing any of this with her!  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the gate.  
  
Despite herself Kaoru felt her heart lurch within her at that distinctive, familiar knock. She dropped the room and ran to the front of the house, then slowly came to a halt in the middle of the yard.  
  
Keisuke stood outside like a vision in his dark blue navy uniform, reminding Kaoru of that first time she had seen him waiting inside the front room -- apparently nothing of the irrepressible, playful, light-hearted, idealistic teenaged boy she remembered from years before. It had taken her about three minutes to realize that the boy had merely become a man. Keisuke was almost unchanged, except that the mischievousness was tempered with consideration, the idealism with experience. And the romance... the romance and affection of the earnest young boy was still all there.  
  
Kaoru smiled, watching as Keisuke turned his head to look around him. The sunshine struck his face, his clear brown eyes, and his dark hair, accentuating the proud good looks that had melted so many girls' hearts in his youth. Kaoru wondered how many more hearts  
  
would melt in the future. She doubted that -- with Keisuke the up-and-coming navy officer -- there wouldn't be a few gaijin hearts in there somewhere.  
  
"Kei-kun!" she said happily, hurrying toward him. As he beamed at her she rushed forward and threw her arms around him, feeling his own arms encircle her affectionately. Kaoru laid her ear against his chest and felt his heart beat beneath within, strong and clear and proud.  
  
/He's all right./ Kaoru moved back and smiled up at him. /I'm so glad. He's fine./  
  
"I'm glad you decided to come here. Your ship is leaving today, isn't it?"  
  
Keisuke's smile was wide and genuine was ever, although Kaoru did not miss the slight shadow that darkened the brown eyes. "It's leaving in a few hours, actually. I'm on my way to the docks, but I thought I'd stop by for a minute first."  
  
"I haven't heard anything from you in days. I've been worried." Kaoru eyed him with a frown.  
  
He threw back his head and laughed. Kaoru savored the sound of his strong, hearty laugh. She had the feeling she wouldn't be hearing it for a long, long time.  
  
"Domo, Kaoru. I got your message that night. I'm touched that you still care for me." Keisuke caught hold of her hand and squeezed it.  
  
Something in his teasing voice made her glance up at him, but then the look in his eyes made her uncomfortable. Feeling heat rise to her cheeks, she averted her gaze.  
  
Keisuke touched her cheek. "Daijoubu, Kaoru. I saw everything that night, anyway. I think I still know you enough" -- he met her sudden startled gaze evenly -- "to believe that you really do love that rurouni of yours that much."  
  
Kaoru bit her lip and thought of Kenshin. "I do," she said softly. "In spite of everything, I really do."  
  
Keisuke regarded her gravely. "I understand. I respect that love -- that love you both share. Others might disapprove, but I think he makes you happy, Kaoru. I think he'll make you happy for the rest of your life. And that's good enough for me."  
  
Kaoru could not meet his gaze. "Gomen nasai, Kei-kun... datte--"  
  
With a somber smile, Keisuke gently placed a finger on her lips. "Don't apologize, Kaoru. Don't ever apologize for what you feel. If anything, it is I who should apologize. I was a little bit blind and a great lot foolish not to have seen what should have been obvious from the start."  
  
Kaoru smiled. "Don't say that. You weren't the only blind one around, ne, Kei-kun?"  
  
They were still laughing when Keisuke seemed to remember something. As Kaoru watched curiously, he reached into his pack and pulled out something long and cylindrical, wrapped in special silver-lined paper. "Accept this humble gift with my thanks," he chuckled as he handed the object to her.  
  
"Of course I will." Kaoru's reply was automatic as she hefted the object in her hands. It was light for its size, and as she tapped it there was a soft, muffled, hollow sound. "A painting?" she asked, looking up at him.  
  
He nodded. "Aa. Consider it my wedding gift to you in advance." He laughed again as warm blood flooded her cheeks. "Kamiya-sensei, do you think I would be so thoughtless as to refuse you a gift for your wedding? I'm sure it isn't so far away." His eyes twinkled at her. "It isn't just decoration, either. It's to remind you that wherever I might be in this world, I'll always be there for you, Kaoru. If you  
  
ever need anything, just call. Leave it to me to find you."  
  
Kaoru looked up, rapt, into his shining dark eyes. She nodded, once, clutching the wrapped scroll tightly in her hand.  
  
"That's it then. I'll be going. There, you see? I gave you a proper goodbye this time." Keisuke winked at her. "I'll miss you, and I'll miss this place. I'll miss those friends of yours too. I'll be back to visit as soon as I can."  
  
"You better," said Kaoru with a grin. "And maybe next time, you'll bring a girl with you. Maybe even a wife, Kei-kun."  
  
He looked at her then, with a funny mix in his eyes of amusement, regret, hope, disappointment, resignation, love,and longing, and Kaoru felt her throat tighten with tears. Wordlessly she ran toward him and felt herself caught up in a tight hug. Sighing contentedly, she heard, once again, the steady, strong beat of Keisuke's heart. She smiled.  
  
/He'll be fine./  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kaoru took a step backward from the wall, peered at it critically, and shook her head. After one last adjustment she stepped back again and eyed her work with an air of satisfaction.  
  
"A good picture," commented a gentle voice behind her.  
  
"Kenshin." After months of his presence Kaoru had finally gotten used to him prowling the house late at night in veritable silence; the hitokiri's stealth skills were still sharp. She turned to him with a smile. "It's Keisuke's gift."  
  
"It's nice." Kenshin moved to stand beside her, looking at the wall hanging with an appreciative eye. The lamp in the corner threw bright yellow light on the painting. "Two ships, side by side. One is a traditional vessel, made of silken sails and wood, and the other a new steam-driven ship. Both fly the Japanese flag. Together they sail through choppy waters, toward the clearer weather on the horizon."  
  
Kaoru laughed. "That's a lot more poetic than what I was thinking, but I guess -- if you get down to it -- it's about the same."  
  
Kenshin smiled, but it was obvious that something else was on his mind. "So Niimi-san went back to his ship this afternoon," he murmured.  
  
"Hai." She followed him as he walked out onto the porch.  
  
Clouds raced across the sky, their fleecy gray shapes barely discernible against the evening darkness. There would be rain in the morning, the chill, prickling rain of autumn. Kaoru watched Kenshin stride out to the edge of the porch, looking out over the moonlit yard.  
  
"I don't want to worry you," began Kenshin quietly, "but there is something I would like to ask you, if you don't mind."  
  
Always polite. Unfailingly considerate. Kaoru shook her head. "Kenshin, you don't have to worry about worrying me. I'd prefer that you say it out loud instead of keeping it to yourself."  
  
Despite her protest, he was silent for many minutes, watching the bamboo pump slump back and forth in the pond.  
  
"I was wondering," he said, softly, "if you had any regrets."  
  
"Kenshin." Kaoru laid a hand on his shoulder, in reproach as well as comfort. "You ought to know me better than that."  
  
A ghost of a smile flitted across his lips. "I felt that that would be the answer," he said, glancing at her, "but -- I didn't dare to hope."  
  
"Baka," she promptly said, tweaking his ear so that he yelped. "You 'don't dare to hope' way too much. You should trust me more. And treat yourself better."  
  
His smile was real this time. "Hearing it from you, Kaoru-dono, I suppose I should take it to heart now."  
  
"Well, I'm glad to see you're finally making sense." Her sharp tones quickly softened. "Kenshin... Keisuke isn't the one I want. It isn't healthy to keep looking to the past. You know that too, ne?" Kaoru met his gaze seriously. "I won't look back now. I have you. And with you, I'll keep looking to the future, to what it has in store for both of us."  
  
Her voice turned playful. "Besides, marrying Keisuke would have meant giving up the dojo and moving all the way to Yokohama. And you know I could never give up this place."  
  
A chill wind gusted through the yard, and Kaoru shivered involuntarily in her thin yukata.  
  
"You're cold, Kaoru-dono." Kaoru froze in surprise, staring wide-eyed, as Kenshin shrugged out of his gi and placed it gently over her shoulders. "Here, wear this-- to keep you warm..."  
  
Kenshin's strong, lean arms slid over her own with the last words, and Kaoru shivered again, though not with the cold this time. She felt him lay his cheek against hers, cool against her warm flesh, and cuddled his arms against her with a sigh. He responded by twining their fingers together -- his motion so delicate, his touch so light, that little currents of heat passed up and down her back. Without thinking,  
  
she purred, deep in her throat.  
  
Kenshin pulled slightly back and faced her with amused purple eyes. "You like that?"  
  
"Mmmm." Kaoru smiled and lay her head on his shoulder. "Very much. Ne, Kenshin... We haven't been this close since that night. I was starting to miss it."  
  
As Kaoru spoke, the boldness unfamiliar to her, she felt embarrassment warm her face. But Kenshin's low, husky, infinitely masculine chuckle more than made up for it. She smiled shakily, and then the smile wavered and disappeared as Kenshin whispered, his hot  
  
breath tickling her ear, "Ai shiteru, Kaoru-dono."  
  
Tears misted her eyes. Her grasp tightened on his fingers. "Say it again," she murmured.  
  
He pressed a kiss to the softness below her ear, in wordless apology for his earlier silence, wordless promise for rectification. "Ai shiteru."  
  
Kaoru shivered. "Kenshin..." Her hands crept up his arms, running across bare, smooth skin, taut muscles.  
  
"I love you too. I..."  
  
He kissed her again. On her open mouth. After long moments, Kaoru broke the contact, staring up at him with heavy-lidded blue eyes, flushed, breathless. Her fingers traced feather-light patterns on his cheek.  
  
"I love..."  
  
Kenshin's lips marked a path from her palm, to her wrist, lingering hotly down her arm, to place a final kiss in her elbow. She drew in a shuddering breath, gently pushed away the fiery hair from his fiery eyes.  
  
"I love you..."  
  
The rain began to fall, spotting the ground in countless dark pinpricks of wetness, raising from the hot earth a sweet, green smell. The wind was cold and brisk as it shook leaves from the trees, eventually driving the two inside into the warmth of the house.  
  
Overhead, the moon was full and bright, and even the fine rainclouds that skittered over it were not enough to hide away its silver light completely.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~ owari ~  
  
  
  
  
  
It's over, finally. This was quite a long chapter but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting for a tenth part. I hope I tied the loose ends together neatly... This last bit took a bit more to start, but once it began it sort of got a spirit of its own, moving toward completion all by itself.  
  
I hope the last WAFFy bit was all right. It's one o'clock already and my eyes are starting to shut. Too bad I haven't got a Kenshin around to keep me awake. ^.^x  
  
To all who read and all who reviewed (as of 12 April 2004) --thank you so much for reading!  
  
babeekoko - haha! thanks for the chapter-by-chapter review! it was so much fun to read them... like i was reading right along with you and sympathizing with everything you felt. i'm happy to have pleased you. ^.^ (gee, i sound like a waiter at a restaurant...)  
  
Aimi-chan - thank you! emotions do seem to be my forte... on the other hand, i do pretty badly with plot and humor. so you see, cosmic balance. ^.^  
  
ixchen - heh-heh. a little suspense never hurt anyone. thanks for the review. ^.^  
  
DragonLoki - glad you liked it! hmm, i don't know about a sequel though. just lemme finish this other one that's still on the burner and then i will consider things properly. ^.~  
  
blahblahHOBO - hee hee! did you get your answer?  
  
Kiwifroot - cute name! and thanks for the open-minded suggestion. see DragonLoki above ^.~  
  
CrismHeart - heh... *scratches head* thanks, thanks. i think i do romance so that i get a vicarious love life of my own. ^.~ don't worry, i'm loyal too... as you saw!  
  
Merlynne - i like your term-- "fabulously indulgent." yes, that does seem to be the kind of story this is, ne? ^.^ very belatedly, the glossaries are now up per chapter. i'm glad you were able to "lose yourself" in the story: i also thoroughly enjoy it when that happens to me, so i sought to do my readers the same service. and as for more k/k-- you might want to check out my latest k/k, a oneshot entitled "Morning After," also on FFnet. ^.^  
  
ChiisaiLammy - welcome, welcome to my humble little fic! i've fixed the format (at long last!), still in time i hope to facilitate your reading. i have to admit it's kind of a been-done story (even the kind people at KFFDiscML said so... ^.^;) but i hope i still managed to put an original spin on it. ^.^ 


End file.
